The
legendary dangers of the Creatures from the Blight are known throughout all the
Westlands. The following tables will help GMs build these nasty creatures. This
work uses many of the concepts found in the various beastie manuals.

"Blight
Creature" is a template that can be added to any corporeal creature
(referred to hereafter as the "base creature"). Beasts or animals with
this template become Blight creatures, but otherwise the creature type is
unchanged.

A
Blight creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities
except as noted here.

It was damp, Rand
realized. It felt like the Mire in the depths of summer, back in the Two
Rivers. In that boggy swamp every breath came as if through a wool
blanket soaked in hot water. There was no soggy ground here-only a few
ponds and streams, trickles to someone used to the Waterwood-but the air
was like that in the Mire. Only Perrin, still in his coat, was breathing
easily. Perrin and the Warder.

There were a few
leaves now, on trees that were not evergreen. Rand reached out to touch
a branch, and stopped with his hand short of the leaves. Sickly yellow
mottledthe red of the new growth, and black flecks like disease.

"I told you not
to touch anything." The Warder's voice was flat. He still wore his
shifting cloak, as if heat made no more impression on him than cold; it
almost made his angular face seem to float unsupported above Mandarb's
back. "Flowers can kill in the Blight, and leaves maim. There's a
little thing called a Stick that likes to hide where the leaves are
thickest, looking like its name, waiting for something to touch it. When
something does, it bites. Not poison. The juice begins to digest the
Stick's prey for it. The only thing that can save you is to cut off the
arm or leg that was bitten. But a Stick won't bite unless you touch it.
Other things in the Blight will."

Rand jerked his hand
back, leaves untouched, and wiped it on his pants leg.

The Eye of the WorldChapter 48 -"The Blight"

Hit
Dice: The base creature’s hit
dice increases by one die type. For instance, if the creature had 4d4
hit dice, it now becomes 4d6 HD.

Speed:
Same as base creature.

AC:
Defense improves by +2.

Attacks:
Same as base character.

Special
Attacks:
The creature gains a bite attack if it did not already have one. If
the creature does not have a claw attack, there is a 25% chance that it
will grow long claws or twisted limbs and gain one.

Damage:
Use
the following table to determine the damage value of the new bite/claw
attack if the creature does not already have one.

Challenge Rating:
Same as base creature +1 (+1 for special
quality/attack)

Advancement:
Same
as base creature.

Size

Bite Damage

Claw Damage

Fine

1d2

1

Diminutive

1d3

1d2

Tiny

1d4

1d3

Small

1d6

1d4

Medium

1d8

1d6

Large

1d10

1d8

Huge

2d8

2d4

Gargantuan

2d10

2d6

Colossal

4d8

2d8

"Then we're in the
Blight?" Perrin said. Strangely, he did not sound frightened.

"Just the
fringe," Lan said grimly. His stallion kept moving forward, and he
spoke over his shoulder. "The real Blight still lies ahead. There are
things in the Blight that hunt by sound, and some may have wandered this
far south. Sometimes they cross the Mountains of Dhoom. Much worse than
Sticks. Keep quiet and keep up, if you want to stay alive." He
continued to set a hard pace, not waiting for an answer.

Mile by mile the
corruption of the Blight became more apparent. Leaves covered the trees in
ever greater profusion, but stained and spotted with yellow and black,
with livid red streaks like blood poisoning. Every leaf and creeper seemed
bloated, ready to burst at a touch. Flowers hung on trees and weeds in a
parody of spring, sickly pale and pulpy, waxen things that appeared to be
rotting while Rand watched. When he breathed through his nose, the sweet
stench of decay, heavy and thick, sickened him; when he tried breathing
through his mouth, he almost gagged. The air tasted like a mouthful of
spoiled meat. The horses' hooves made a soft squishing as rotten-ripe
things broke open under them.

The Eye of the WorldChapter 48 -"The Blight"

Despite the
heat and damp, Loial wrapped a scarf around his nose and mouth. When he
met Rand's gaze, the Ogier's outrage and disgust were plain in his eyes.
"I had heard - " he began, his voice muffled by the wool, then
stopped to clear his throat with a grimace. "Faugh! It tastes like
. . . Faugh! I had heard and read about the Blight, but nothing could
describe . . ." His gesture somehow took in the smell as well as
the eye-sickening growth. "That even the Dark One should do
this to trees! Faugh!"

The Eye of the WorldChapter 48 -"The Blight"

Special
Attacks: The
Blight Creature retains all of the special attacks of the base creature, plus
there is a 50% chance that the creature will develop a new special attack.
If a special attack is indicated, roll 1d10 and consult the table below.
Alternately, the GM may assign a special attack to the creature.

Roll

Special
Attack

1

Electrical
Discharge: The
creature can make a touch attack. If successful, it releases a
discharge of electricity into its victim for 1d6 points of
damage for every 2 HD the creature has. The victim may attempt a
Reflex saving throw for half damage (DC: 10 + 1/2 the creature’s
base HD + Constitution modifier).

2

Blinding
Attack: The
creature can spit out a stream of corrosive saliva at one target
that may blind the victim if it hits. Use the creature’s Base
Attack Bonus plus any modifiers. If the victim is hit, it must
pass a Fortitude saving throw (DC: 10 + 1/2 the creature’s
base HD + Constitution modifier) or be blinded for 2d8 minutes.

3

Lashing
Tentacles: The
creature gains a set of long tentacles that grow from its body
and enables it to use the Improved Grab feat.

Bleeding
Wounds: The
creature's saliva interferes with the normal blood clotting
process of bitten victims. Wounds from the creature continue to
bleed for 1 extra point of damage per round until healed or
treated by a successful first aid application using the Heal
skill.

6

Spines:
The
creature has one or more layers of spines on its body that it
may bring to bear in combat or when enraged. Whenever an
opponent makes a successful strike in melee combat, the creature
may make a free attack of opportunity with its spines (Base
attack Bonus) that does 1d6 + the creature’s HD in damage.

7

Crushing
Jaws: The
creature’s massive jaws are capable of biting through, or
crushing even the strongest armor. When making a bite attack, it
ignore any armor modifiers, although the victim still retains
Dexterity and Size modifiers to it AC.

8

Drain
Blood: With a successful grapple
attack, the creature can drain blood from the victim. It deals
1d2 points of temporary Constitution damage to its victim per
round it remains in contact. Creatures
drained to 0 Constitution points or below are dead.

9

Foul
Odor: The
stench of corruption clings to the creature’s body. Upon first
encountering the creature, all those within 10 ft. must succeed
at a Fortitude check (DC 12) or become nauseated, suffering a -2
penalty to all attacks, saves and skill checks for 2d4 rounds.

10

Terrifying
Howl: Once
a day, before the creature attacks, it is able to, emit a
horrifying and ear-shattering howl. Everyone within earshot must
make a Willpower saving throw (DC 18) or suffer a -3 morale
modifier to initiative and attack rolls for the duration of the
fight.

Special
Qualities: Blight creatures
retain all of the special qualities of the base creature and gain the following
special qualities:

Bloodlust (Ex):
The creature is such a ferocious and terrible opponent that it will
continue to fight without penalty even while disabled or dying.

There
is a 25% chance that the Blight Creature has a random special
quality and a 10% chance that it will have two special qualities
from the table below. If a special quality is indicated, roll
1d12 on the following table:

0-65

none

66-90

one ability

91-00

two abilities

Roll

Special Quality

1

Abnormally
Large: The creature is
one size larger than normal for its type. It gains all the
modifiers as listed on table 11-8 and 11-9 pg 236, Core Rulebook
I.

2

Extraordinary
Senses: The creature gains
an extraordinary sense as per the abilities in the Core Rulebook III.

1-2

Tremor Sense

3-4

Blindsight

5-6

Scent

3

Swiftness: The
Blight creature is much faster than its normal type. It may take one extra partial action per round with no
penalty.

4

Keen Senses: The
creature is able to see four times as far as a human in both day
and night and gains a +6 to Search and Spot checks.

5

Extra
Limbs: The
creature gains one or more extra limbs on its body (1-4 extra
legs or arms, 5-6 extra head). These extra limbs may be useless
or can give the creature extra bite/claw attacks or more speed
(GM’s discretion).

6

Leap: The
mutant has extraordinary strong legs that propel it much
farther than normal for its type. It gains a +10 to
its Jump skill and is no longer limited by its height.

7

Iron
Hide: The
creature gains either a +6 bonus to its armor class or a -5 damage reduction due to its thick hard hide or bony ridge-like
armor.

Camouflage:
The
creature’s mottled and sickly hide blends in with the
corruption of the Blight. It gains a +10 to its Hide
skill.

10

Enhanced
Attributes: The
creature gains a +1d4 to one of its attributes (1-2 Str, 2-3
Con, 5-6 Dex).

11

Frenzy:
1d4
rounds after entering battle, the Blight creature enters a
frenzied state from the blood scent. A frenzied Blight creature
adds +2 to its Str and Con and +2 hit points per HD and
remains frenzied for 1d6 rounds after the fight ends.

12

Death
Throe: Once
the creature has been brought to -10 HP or lower, its body will
thrash around for 2d4 rounds causing 1d4 points of damage per
size category, medium and above, in a 5 ft. radius.

"Couldn't we
camp down by the lakes?" Nynaeve asked, patting her face with her
kerchief. "It must be cooler down by the water."

"Light,"
Mat said, "I'd just like to stick my head in one of them. I might
never take it out."

Just then something
roiled the waters of the nearest lake, the dark water phosphorescing as
a huge body rolled beneath the surface. Length on man thick length sent
ripples spreading, rolling on and on until at last a tail rose, waving a
point like a wasp's stinger for an instant in the twilight, at least
five spans into the air. All along that length fat tentacles writhed
like monstrous worms, as many as a centipede's legs. It slid slowly
beneath the surface and was gone, only the fading ripples to say it had
ever been. Rand closed his mouth and exchanged a look with Perrin.
Perrin's yellow eyes were as disbelieving as he knew his own must be.
Nothing that big could live in a lake that size. Those couldn't have
been hands on those tentacles. They couldn't have been.

"On second
thought," Mat said faintly, "I like it right here just
fine."